So the days passed by. I began to adapt. By warming up the rabbit fur I could sleep in a warm bed and I didn't get nightmares as frequently anymore.

  One day, when I was returning from a hunt with Rex, he seemed on guard. Not too much, but he just seemed a little bit uneasy, which was weird because normally he was excited and loud and would run back and forth because I was too slow to chase his doggy behind. Now he stayed perfectly at my side, keeping his head low.

  Then I heard it too. Footsteps. Voices. There were people there, and not just two or three: there were around ten of them. I became sick in my stomach. Memories flashed in my head. Memories of steel. I opened my eyes as wide as I could to avoid dealing with what happened in my head. The sound came from the direction of my makeshift house. I had to move. I had to grab everything I could and run.

  But it was too late. These people -they looked like soldiers- were all over my stuff. Some were looking at the ashes of my campfire, some were talking to each other, passing glances. Some were going in and out of the carriage. Their shiny armour reflected the sunlight. I hid in some bush nearby. I couldn't be seen. As much as I hated them touching my stuff, I couldn't be seen.

  After a while of them talking, looking at my things and smiling, one of them, who looked like the leader, yelled something. I couldn't hear what he yelled. I should have been close enough, but the words just didn't register. Then two subordinates came forward and made fire, like Monto, out of thin air. They moved a bit and threw the flames inside my house.

  I couldn't do anything. They were many and I was just one. Just me. I watched as the flames engulfed the structure that I only just started calling home. It burned everything: the walls that kept me safe from the wind. The cookies that I left untouched for harder times. The pelts that I tried so hard to perfect. The doodles of the many sleepless nights. Tears left my eyes and slowly made their way over my face, but I couldn't afford to make a sound. These people were vicious, like the rest. They wouldn't hesitate.

  The soldiers left soon after, but I stayed hidden. Afraid they would return and notice me. Frozen by disbelief. All that I built up, gone. The food supplies that I only just managed to increase. The clothes that I handled so carefully in anticipation of winter. The drawings that told my story. All that I thought I had was taken from me, again. And again I was left with only myself.

  Only when the sandy hill fell down on the fire I ran towards it. I tried to dig, to see if there was still something I could save, but the fire was not yet out and the sand was hot. Only after a few hours I managed to unearth whatever was left of my home, but it was only ashes.

  This was it. I was done. The nights were significatly colder than when I came here and even with the carriage it was a roll of the dice if I would have survived. I couldn't hope to find a second carriage. Not one that wouldn't be burned down. Unless... Those soldiers needed somewhere to sleep as well. Bet they had actual sleeping bags and way better supplies than me. Maybe I could follow them around for a while and see where they were going.

  I sprung up. I had to hurry. They left a while ago and they probably had a faster pace than me. The one advantage I had over them was that I was alone, if you didn't count Rex and Monto. Organizing soldiers would probably be a complex operation and setting up camp and feeding them all would take time. And they would probably be easy to follow as they made a lot of noise. I could do this, just had to follow their tracks. Deep footprints left in the sand by people not concerned with hiding themselves. Easy. I had practiced on rabbits, I got this. Until sundown at least.

  When the sun got too low to properly follow tracks I had just barely managed to catch up. I was about to give up, but heard some noise and when I followed the sounds I found their camp. Turns out the soldiers I saw weren't the only ones. There were tens of people, all walking around, talking, and laughing around their huge bonfire. They had tents big enough for 3 or 4 people and didn't seem to lack anything. They all ate their food from metal plates and got their water from large containers and drank it from an iron cup. Large bags were thrown around here and there. Paths were walked out in places with lots of traffic. They didn't set this camp up today.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  When seeing them all laughing and being careless I got angry. Why did I have to starve and freeze while they were all comfortable? Why did they burn down the shelter of a person they didn't even know and then have the gall to celebrate? I couldn't stand seeing them so happy. A thought formed in my head to burn it all down, like they did to me. I'd have Monto make a campfire and throw a few flaming spears to the tents. Bet that would burn like crazy. If I didn't get everything at once I could come back. The forest was my terrain.

  But no. No one would be helped by that. After the initial happiness of a successful revenge I would have to watch these people go through the same things I did. As satisfying as it would be, at least a few of them would die. Did they deserve that? Probably, but it wouldn't sit right with me if I was the one who sent them to their deaths.

  Also, burned down resources are unusable for everyone. If I just take a bit, take what I need, maybe a little more, I might be able to live comfortably leeching off of them. That was the least they could do. They destroyed my life, so now they were responsible for it, wether they knew it or not. I'd rather they didn't know. As tough as I was talking, these soldiers scared the shit out of me and I knew that if they caught me, I would be the one burning.

  As I was waiting it grew darker. I didn't set up camp for myself. How could I? Come time for sleep I'd just have to lie down in a random spot and pray I would wake up safely. Instead I observed the soldiers, looking for an opening to run into camp and grab a few things. Looking like a child and being without uniform, I would stick out like a sore thumb, so I would need a window where no one would look my way. Luckily these soldiers weren't the tidyest ones around. When they were done with stuff, they just let it lie around. Plenty of stuff was just thrown on the ground outside the tents. If I dared to walk in I could easily score myself a few plates.

  They were surprisingly strict with taking guard. Each side of the camp was being watched over by a pair of soldiers. It would be difficult to sneak past them. Not that they were paying much attention. At some point Monto walked up to me and lied down. No one noticed. Like they were waiting to be attacked rather than looking what happened around them.

  Could I just walk in quietly? Adrenaline raced through my body just thinking about it. I hated being surrounded with no way to escape. I wouldn't be able to outrun the soldiers. I wasn't the fastest around and they were so many... But I was thirsty. I lost most of my water being careless when hiding. I don't blame myself, but now I was feeling the concequences. They had water. Closed containers full of it. Cups to drink out of.

  "Monto, if it all goes wrong, can you carry me on your back for a while?"

  It was a large request and a complicated scentence, but these animals surprised me before with their intelligence. I just had to stop denying these were the same animals I knew. Monto let out a calm sigh. Lets use that as confirmation. The moment I was spotted I would drop everything and run to Monto.

  My target was a half filled water container of about 20 centimeters tall. It wasn't really close to the edge, but I would get in trouble if I took something bigger than I could carry, just because it was close. I waited for a bit more. 1 or 2 hours, it was hard to tell the time while waiting. But I waited until everyone except the guards had settled into a tent for the night and then some more, to be sure they were sleeping.

  Then came the hardest part. Just because the guards weren't actively looking for me didn't mean they would see me if I just walked past them. The bushes stopped existing closer to the camp, the one I was hiding in was one of the closest.

  I picked a spot between two guard pairs and started walking in. Crouched, to stay low, and as quiet as possible. If one of them moved their head they would surely notice something was moving. Hell, even if they paid attention to the corner of their eye they could see something suspicious.

  But they didn't. Almost too easily I got to the container. I grabbed it and walked back, the same way as I did before. Though it was tempting to just run, the biggest mistake I could make now was to make a break for it. I wasn't clear yet, and they hadn't seen me. I just needed to move slowly, steadily and have a lot of luck.

  Only when I reached the bush where Monto was waiting I dared to go a bit faster. I breathed out, unaware that I had been holding my breath. When Monto got up and walked with me, farther away from the camp, I dared completely relax. I stood up and started running, a wide smile on my face for the prize I held in my hands. Now I could drink and carry more water, so I wouldn't easily go thirsty again.